10 Emergency Preparedness Tips

Here are 10 emergency preparedness tips to make sure you’re prepared for emergencies including things that many people forget to plan for ahead of time.

10 Emergency Preparedness Tips

Since we live in Tornado alley, we always try to be prepared for tornadoes. One thing I thought of today (as we are under a severe watch) is to make sure you have a shovel and gloves with you in your shelter. That way, if you need to dig yourself out, it will be easier.

-Tawra

One time, I learned the hard way not to drink a cup of coffee and a cup of tea when you are under a tornado warning. My only bathroom was upstairs, far away from from my tornado shelter closet. I now store an ice cream bucket with a lid and toilet paper in there.

I keep ice cream bucket with a lid and some toilet paper in my car, too, because one time the kids and I were caught in a terrible blizzard in the middle of the Kansas prairie. The wind and snow were blowing so hard we couldn’t open the car doors. We were stranded from six in the morning until late that night. I was prepared with food and blankets but forgot the potty part.

You can get special inexpensive toilet seats that fit on any 5 gallon bucket, which are nice for emergencies too. You can store toilet paper and your other emergency kit items inside the gallon bucket and then use it for a toilet when needed.

This may not be the most pleasant subject, but I do like to be practical and prepared.

Additional Emergency Preparedness Tips:

Whistles. Keep a whistle in your emergency kit. You can hear whistles better and farther than the human voice, so if you get trapped somewhere in an emergency it’s easier to let rescuers know where you are. Make sure your kids each have a whistle, too.
Office Kits. Keep a mini emergency kit at your office. Use a soft sided lunch box and put items in it like a whistle, a small flashlight, a mini first aid kit, a couple bottles of water, etc. Also, if you wear heels to work keep a pair of hard soled shoes at the office (in case of broken glass).
Kids’ Kits. Keep a small backpack for each child if you can– one with wheels is best. Place a change of clothes, parent and grandparent information, a small stuffed animal (for comfort), something like a coloring book, a whistle, a small flashlight, a bottle of water and some hard candy (It helps with energy and is soothing). Place the backpack and a pair of hard soled shoes (in case of broken glass) under the child’s bed.

Pet kits. Include a small bag of food, a leash, a small bag of cat litter and a box, like a shirt box, to put the emergency supplies in.
Keep relatives’ and friends’ names, phone numbers and addresses in your emergency kit. It is easy to forget these items in an emergency.
Permanent Marker. We have mentioned it before but, in an emergency, write your child’s name, your name, address and phone number or grandparents’ info on a child’s arm in case they get lost. In a really bad situation you may want to mark yourself in case someone finds you unconscious.

Of course these are just a few of many things you can do in addition to the standard preparation like food, water, blankets, etc. You can add anything you think you’ll need to all of these kits but always remember you may have to carry them for a bit, possibly for miles, so don’t make them too heavy.

-Jill